


It's Not Just Any Suit

by Tazza1993



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 06:55:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9981782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tazza1993/pseuds/Tazza1993
Summary: Robert could not give Aaron the wedding they should have had in Vegas. He could not even give Aaron a perfect wedding ceremony in Emmerdale. But Robert could, and would, give Aaron the best version of Robert possible. And that included Robert wearing the perfect outfit.OrRobert goes shopping for his wedding suit.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Not even sure what this is - it just popped into my head.
> 
> For Robron week (the marriage prompt)

 

Robert usually loved shopping. He enjoyed how purpose driven the activity was - you went into a shop looking for something that you needed and you more often than not left with it. He enjoyed trying things on that he knew looked good on him. He enjoyed driving home to Aaron and showing off his new purchases. Sometimes, showing off his new purchases even ended with sex. Robert definitely would not say that eventual sex was a necessity for an enjoyable day's shopping but it was always an enjoyable bonus.

 

Today was different, however. The longer Robert spent sifting through the rails under the bright lighting, the more his frustration built. This time he was not just looking for something to wear for a random night out in Leeds. He was looking for the suit he would wear to marry Aaron in and Robert wanted it to be perfect.

 

Robert could not give Aaron the wedding they should have had in Vegas. (Robert rubbed his hand across his forehead at the thought, because if only he had not taken his ring off then he and Aaron would have been legally wed by now and Aaron would not be fast approaching his impending court date). He could not even give Aaron a perfect wedding ceremony in Emmerdale. Robert prided himself on being able to pull surprises together with very little notice but even he could not organise the type of wedding Aaron deserved in one day. But what Robert could - and would - give Aaron was the best version of Robert possible. And that included Robert wearing the perfect outfit.

 

With a sigh, Robert flung a selection of five shirt and jacket combinations over his shoulder and almost marched into the changing rooms. His emotions were so heightened that he could not even summon up the energy to throw a flirty smile at the, admittedly pretty, shop worker who pointed him in the direction of a vacant changing cubicle. Robert Sugden very rarely felt stressed - he felt able to cope with almost any situation that life threw at him. Admittedly, sometimes he did not deal with things in the best way (kidnapping Ryan had definitely been a personal low) but he was very rarely crippled by inaction and indecision. Yet, Robert was frozen with indecision now.

 

He closed the cubicle door behind him and proceeded to strip his top half of clothing off. The first suit was too loose. The second and third were both boring and uninspiring. The fourth was average at best. The fifth made him look washed out and overly pale. Robert had to bite back a growl of frustration. Robert was not going to show up to his wedding looking like a vampire - or even worse, an overworked investment banker. Especially when Robert knew that Aaron would look fantastic in the suit that Robert had picked out for him.

 

Robert took a moment to fire off a quick text to his fiancé, perching on the wooden stool in the changing cubicle. Aaron had insisted on spending the morning up at the scrapyard, despite the fact that his court date was merely days away. He wanted a little bit of normality, he had said, when Robert had pressed him on the issue.

 

_How's the world of scrap going today? R x_

 

Aaron's answered almost immediately. _Would be more interesting if you were here. A x_

 

_I'll be back soon. R x_

 

_Promise? A x_

 

_Try and stop me. R x_

 

Robert slipped his phone back into his pocket, smiling at the thought of returning to Aaron. He could picture him perfectly, as he would be at that moment, sitting behind the desk in the porta cabin, staring down at the heaps of paperwork that had started to accumulate. He'd be frowning, Robert decided, because Aaron loathed paperwork. If Robert had been there, he would have been able to coax a laugh out of his grumpy fiancé. Soon he would be there with him, if only he could find the right suit to buy.

 

Robert left the cubicle, handing the discarded outfits back to the shop attendant with a shake of his head. He went to seek out the next shop, for what he was beginning to suspect would be more of the same. It was one of those days where nothing seemed to be going Robert's way. It had been one of those months, really.

 

He had always hated feeling as though things were slipping out of his control. Fear of losing control had been what had triggered most of Robert's major mistakes in life - Katie's accident, Paddy and the grain crusher, what happened with Aaron at the lodge. Right now, there was nothing that Robert could do to protect Aaron from the harsh reality of a probable spell in prison. There was nothing he could do to take the expression of dread off Liv's face. And tied in with that was the inescapable fear that Liv's dread was partly caused by the prospect of being stuck with Robert for months. He knew it was irrelevant and more than a little bit idiotic, but Robert could not prevent himself from thinking that if he could just do this one thing - find the right suit - then things would seem a little bit brighter. Surely he could get one thing right?

 

Then, Robert's thoughts turned to his dad who almost certainly didn't think that Robert got anything right, ever. He should have been with him today, helping him pick out his wedding suit, as Andy also should have been. Although, Robert could not help the little snicker that escaped from his lips at the idea of Jack and Andy, farmers through and through, being forced to endure shopping in the designer district of Leeds. They would have given him grief for being a snob, Robert knew. But, it still would have been better than having nobody. Aaron was the one person that Robert had. For now - until prison stole him away for an undetermined period of time.

 

There was a feeling of deja vu in the air as Robert stood in yet another changing room, in yet another designer shop, with a carefully selected handful of suits beside him. The first one looked too old fashioned when Robert buttoned it up. The second was too red. The third made him look as though he was attending a funeral. The fourth made Robert pause. Was this suit good enough to marry Aaron in? He looked good in it, Robert thought. Was it _good enough_ , though? Logically, Robert knew that Aaron would not care what Robert chose to marry him in. His fiancé was one of the least materialistic people that Robert had ever met. It was one of the reasons why Robert had fallen in love with him. Honesty, kindness and loyalty were what mattered to Aaron. Although, Robert knew that he did have a soft spot for fast cars.

 

But the problem was, Robert had never been able to think logically when it came to Aaron. If he was being honest, it had not been logical to start an affair with the local mechanic in the first place - not when he had been so close to home. But Robert had wanted Aaron and that desire had driven him to the lay-by and the worst thought out scheme Robert had ever devised (because if Robert had been thinking logically he would at the very least have tampered with the car before calling Aaron). And that had led to the most illogical, yet ultimately the best, decision that Robert had ever made. Logically, Robert knew that Aaron would not mind what he wore. In fact, he would have scoffed at Robert if he could see him now - fussing over his appearance like a sixteen year old choosing a prom dress. Yet, all Robert could focus on was the thought of Aaron looking at him in his wedding suit and liking what he saw.

 

Robert examined himself in the changing room mirror and surveyed the way the fabric clung to his shoulders, his chest, his hips. He was by no means in the best shape of his life - Aaron loved his pub grub too much and Robert just loved to be wherever Aaron was. The suit was well cut, though, and Robert decided that it did a good job of hiding his lack of abs.

 

Robert remembered shopping for his wedding outfit to marry Chrissie. He had not felt any of this insecurity back then. Part of the reason for that, of course, was because expensive gym equipment and organic salads for lunch had been part and parcel of the materialistic lifestyle of Home Farm. But it was perhaps more to do with the fact that Robert had never worried about whether he was good enough for Chrissie. As far as Robert had been concerned, he had earned Chrissie's love and appreciation. He had worked hard to win Chrissie, as though she was an expensive watch or games console, as opposed to a future spouse.

 

Aaron was a different matter altogether. Robert had worked hard for him, too, in the end. But Robert knew that no matter what he did, he would never truly deserve Aaron. And Aaron's love had not been won by expensive gifts or weekends away or impressive business deals. It had been won, in the end, by support, patience, understanding and affection. Aaron loved Robert, for Robert. And as Robert realised that, he understood that his current behaviour was bordering on completely ridiculous. The time Robert was spending deliberating on what to wear, could have spent memorising every inch of Aaron before they were wrenched apart for what could be months. It could be spent kissing Aaron and telling him that he was everything Robert had ever wanted.

 

Robert purchased the suit without another thought, only pausing when he passed a display stand featuring floral ties. He decided against it - Aaron thought floral prints were ridiculous, after all. On second thoughts, he almost laughed, picking up a particularly flamboyant purple one, it could be fun to see Aaron's face when he wore it. Not on his wedding day, though - he'd save it for another day. A one when Aaron looked in need of cheering up.

 

Robert returned to the counter and paid for the tie hurriedly. He missed his fiancé, he couldn't wait to be home with him.

 

***

 

Robert's wedding suit lay on the bedroom floor, crumpled and untidy. From his spot on the bed with Aaron, Robert gave it a cursory glance and briefly wondered why he had ever given it more than a moment's thought. It had only ever been destined to end up ripped off in haste, anyway. It was their wedding night, after all.


End file.
